


Be Your Acquaintance

by tremmy_chii



Series: What Makes a Heart Beat [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Blood, First Meetings, Half-Vampire Yeosang, M/M, Vampire Choi San, Werewolf Wooyoung, all works are stand-alones but are connected as a sansang au, early Halloween fic lol, italics in the summary is the prompt and the number next to it is the age of the characters, this is an inktober prompt that I made into a writober series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26803642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tremmy_chii/pseuds/tremmy_chii
Summary: Yeosang has always had an eerie sense of calm to him, even when the situation doesn't call for it. Most would run, call for help. Meanwhile—"I won't taste good," Yeosang simply says to the vampire he knows is staring at him from the shadows. "I guarantee it."(new moon, 16)
Relationships: Choi San/Kang Yeosang
Series: What Makes a Heart Beat [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1954753
Comments: 6
Kudos: 134





	Be Your Acquaintance

**Author's Note:**

> Using the "Halloween with ATEEZ" prompts by zalyshka on twitter! 
> 
> Honestly thought I was just gonna barf 300-500 words to post as a pic on twitter for fun but then aHA...it got a lil long. Not promising I'll do all 31 days, but there were a few that especially caught my eye (fingers crossed for my work ethic). I don't think I'll post anything less than 2k here, so check on @faeyeojoong occasionally to see if I got my ass to write. 
> 
> And to any user subscribers who clicked on this anyway - first of all I love you, tHANK YOU (and sorry!) - I'm still working on bbam! :D spicy stuff is coming (bisoy + not bisoy)

Wooyoung smells Yeosang outside the house before the doorbell even rings. It's a very specific scent — Wooyoung can't describe it to save his life despite his sharp nose because it's made of everything good in this world, but it's familiar at the very least. He's had more than a decade to get used to it anyway. 

Two pairs of legs race down the stairs to beat the imaginary timer, babbles of excitement from the kid in front of him cutting through the otherwise peaceful home. Wooyoung pulls the door open and, with incredible intuition, grabs the back of his cousin's costume to stop him from running into the street. The kid whines in midair while Wooyoung groans at the sight of Yeosang.

"Really?" He sends Yeosang a tired look of distaste. "You're a _vampire_?"

Yeosang stares back with his somehow hilariously blank face. Wooyoung has to laugh at how lazy and lame he is — Yeosang, a vampire, is dressed as every stereotypical Dracula roaming around on Halloween with his cheap black cloak, underlined with bright red fabric and fake gel-like blood smeared all over the bottom half of his face. Tattered converses and blue jeans peek out from beneath the hem. 

“At least wear black? Or the new shoes I know you own because _I_ gave them to you?” Wooyoung’s gaze rises from their feet and back to Yeosang’s face. He barks out another laugh — “ _Yeosang_!” He squeaks. “Did you glue fake fangs on top of your real ones?!”

Yeosang holds back a grin. “My real ones looked too real."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Hyung!! Let's go!!"

Oh, right. Wooyoung puts his cousin back on his feet, keeping one eye on him as he fixes his ghost costume. Honestly, Yeosang shouldn't be put under fire for being lazy with his costume when Jihoon isn't any better — but Jihoon's a kid. The white tablecloth and two holes for eyes is considered cute and classic. Who's gonna tell a seven year old his costume sucks? What are they gonna do when Wooyoung beats them up? 

"Let's go, let's go! We're late!"

"Hold _on_ , we still have to pick up your friends." Wooyoung grabs the house key, a backpack, and three pumpkin-shaped baskets before closing the door behind him. "We're off!" He shouts towards the backyard, where his parents are still figuring out how to get all the lights to work without causing a power outage. Good luck to them; there's only about an hour until nightfall. 

Wooyoung hands everyone their baskets, slips the handle of his onto his wrist so his hands are free, and grabs both Yeosang and Jihoon. 

" _Gyahaha!_ Trick or treat, trick or treat!"

"God, he sounds exactly like you. I told you the hyena laugh runs in the family." Yeosang rubs his ear.

Wooyoung smacks him on the chest as they walk towards one of Jihoon's three friends' house. Instead of hitting flesh though, Wooyoung feels something liquid shift under Yeosang's cloak. "Wha."

"Food," Yeosang explains without missing a beat. "Just in case."

"I saw you feed earlier today though."

"Mom insisted. It's darker on a new moon, and she thought that would make me more… vulnerable?" Yeosang didn't really understand it either, but it was less of a fuss to just quietly pocket the blood bag.

Wooyoung puckers his lips. "Man, she still babies you so much." He wipes an imaginary tear. "Meanwhile look at me! The heck! I turn fifteen and suddenly that's a good age to throw _children_ at my feet! I don't want responsibility!" It's Halloween. He and Yeosang should be out there sneaking into a party to live their best lives! Maybe they're a _tad_ underage, but Wooyoung has heard some wild stories from his seniors in the track and field team that's got him curious. He wouldn't get into as much trouble, of course, because Yeosang will be with him. They'd look after each other. They always do good things together.

Yeosang smiles wryly. Wooyoung makes sure they do the not-so-good things together too. "Responsibility that you drag me into."

"Not like you had anywhere else to go." Wooyoung grins cheekily while Yeosang rolls his eyes. "Besides, you get free candy out of this! And I get an extra pair of hands to shepherd three kids. Safety in numbers. Win-win."

"I think sixteen is pushing it for trick-or-treating."

"Don't worry." Wooyoung leans closer and mockingly pats Yeosang's cheek. "You don't look a day over twelve," he jokes.

Yeosang shoves Wooyoung aside, laughs freely when his best friend steps on dog poop as a result.

They go pick up Jihoon's friend — and to their pleasant surprise, there are actually two. That'll save them the trip to the next house, which means they can all head to the good side of the neighborhood for an early start on the full-sized candy bars these old couples love to hand out. Wooyoung takes one look at the three little ghosts in front of him and gasps, heart melting. Okay, screw the sketchy teenage parties, this is so much better.

"You all _match_. _Awww_!" Wooyoung gathers as much of them as he can into his arms and cuddles them. Yeosang has to admit they're very cute too, especially the different colored bow ties sewed on to differentiate them. The children are given flashlights to use later on when it gets dark and stern instructions to never leave Wooyoung and Yeosang’s sight. There’s a rush of agreements, tablecloths fluttering up and down eager to just _leave already_. 

Wooyoung leads the little pack of five, with Yeosang guarding from the back as they make their way down the street to raid the neighbors. The children shout “BOO!” every time the door opens, and the adults pretend to be scared before a chorus of “Trick or treat!” brings a smile back on their faces. Chocolate, sour gummies, and… pretzels… fill their baskets quickly. After indulging the ghosts, the attention always ends up on Yeosang, who receives compliment after compliment on his vampire costume. He suits the look well, they say, with his dark hair falling over his intense eyes and light skin. What Wooyoung gets is,

“Nice! A robber.”

“Very good thief costume.”

“…I’m a ninja,” Wooyoung sulks every time they walk away, baskets a little heavier. “What robber wears dark blue, mesh, and peep-toe sandals?”

“They’re old, they wouldn’t know,” Yeosang pats his back. 

Wooyoung kicks the rocks. “Stupid delivery. The headband would’ve tied it all together.” He ordered a knockoff hidden leaf village headband a week ago to complete the look, but the website was dubious at best and on top of that, the package got stuck at customs for a day. Now it's going to arrive in November. His weeb dreams are shattered.

"I think you look cool regardless."

"Easy for you to say, _vampire_."

The two of them feel a weird itch after Wooyoung says that out loud. They're used to keeping what they are a closely guarded secret, something that is only known within the family or sensed by other supernaturals who happen to walk by. Yeosang is in an awkward position though. His mother registered him with the government when he was born, because she thought that would be the best way to secure protection rights as a _half_ child. Anyone with access to his documents can find out, but Wooyoung and his family are completely off the records. Something about full body transformations freak humans out. 

"Huh," Yeosang makes a contemplative noise. "Weird how I get compliments because it's fake, but I'll be hunted if it's real."

"Weird," Wooyoung agrees. There's definitely a lot more to unpack about this, but the point of tonight is to hoard candy and babysit excited kids. Especially Jihoon. Wooyoung knows firsthand what it's like to be young and thrilled and slip out of control, letting claws and — God forbid, _fur_ — emerge for everyone to see. 

Later, Yeosang wins rock-paper-scissors on who gets to keep the fourth gigantic lollipop. He immediately unwraps it and sucks on it for the duration of the journey. An hour into nightfall, their baskets fill up. Wooyoung has to pull out a trash bag to pool his, Jihoon's, and Yeosang's haul together so that they can exchange empty ones with the children and let them trick-or-treat more. 

"But how will I know what's mine?" Jihoon protests.

Wooyoung tsks. "We can split them up at home. You'll get your candy."

"It's _different_! I earned it!"

"Look, either we put everything in the bag so I can carry them, or we go home because your pumpkin is full and you can't get any more."

Jihoon's whole stance looks upset even though he's completely shapeless and billowed by white cloth. His friends look helpless at the sudden escalation. Jihoon remains silent, glaring through his eye cutouts. 

Wooyoung frowns, about to pack it up and declare that they're going home at a mere 7PM when Yeosang steps in.

"We all earned our share, Jihoon. Your Wooyoung hyung is just trying to help all of us get more, but we only have this bag and a backpack. We have to hold onto your friend's candy too," Yeosang explains. The three ghosts look at each other and their full pumpkins. Yeosang smiles, "We can let you have first-pick at home." 

_My Snickers!_ Wooyoung mentally mourns, but keeps his mouth shut.

"…Okay," Jihoon mumbles. Yeosang pats his head as he dumps his basket into the trash bag. Wooyoung is about to make faces at Yeosang for single-handedly sacrificing their odds of a good haul when Jihoon seesaws on his heels and sheepishly says, "Thank you."

Oof. Hard feelings? They don’t exist. Wooyoung grins and roughly ruffles the kid's head, ignoring the squawks and sounds of hair static beneath the fabric. "See, isn't hyung the best?" 

And so, they parade on. Multiple groups of children and teenagers fill the street now, showing off their costumes and heavy sacks of candy. Wooyoung whistles lowly at a grotesque zombie across the street, impressed, but then he remembers he's supposed to make sure nobody gets nightmares tonight and ushers the kids forward before they can see. For stops where houses have elected to leave out a bowl and a "take one" sign, Wooyoung teaches them to take two.

"One for each hand," he justifies. Tiny hands follow his lead without a question.

Meanwhile, Yeosang trails behind them and sucks on his lollipop until the spot is thin enough to bite. The crunch is satisfying for a moment — then he realizes the glue came off of his fake fangs. Wooyoung snickers at his perplexed face as he spits out two of them right in front of someone's elaborate graveyard. Yeosang looks like a bulldog with a particularly bad underbite. 

After reaching a dead end, they cross the street and slowly hit up more houses as they U-turn home. It goes well until one of Jihoon's friends _really_ needs to pee.

"Can't you hold it in?" Wooyoung looks around for options. The bushes are probably not recommended. 

And to add onto the trouble, the other one groans, "I think I have a tummy-ache…" Yeosang noticed him sneaking chocolates in his mouth like, every ten minutes, but didn't say anything because he was doing the same until he won a strawberry swirl lollipop the size of his head.

"Oh my god, _children_." Wooyoung rubs his temples as if he's not ten times the handful when he's with their friends.

They're in the middle of the sidewalk, which isn't the ideal place to stop. They try to squish along the fence as much as possible to avoid obstructing other trick-or-treaters while the two teens think of what to do next. Wooyoung can only imagine asking someone if the kids can use the restroom inside because the public ones at the park nearby are closed this late. Yeosang offers to watch everyone's stuff on a deserted bench while Wooyoung scampers off towards the closest house.

"Nnnnngh I'm gonna burst!"

"Well, don't!! Hold it in, I said!!" Wooyoung screeches from a distance. Their flashlights can be seen haphazardly flickering from running.

Yeosang relaxes under a tree while he waits for them to come back. He's sitting right on the cusp of the main street and the hidden path towards a fairly nice park. There's a surprising amount of trees, considering it's just a local one. 

The pumpkins lined up beside him are almost full, so he checks the name tags and empties the right ones into the ever-growing trash bag filled with their loot. For a few quiet moments, Yeosang is content with just staring at the night sky and licking his lollipop. He makes it easier for himself by pulling off the remaining two fangs and chucking it in the bin. The fake blood smeared on his face has worn off by now, lips stained a sweet red instead by sticky sugar. 

Yeosang has been here many times throughout his life, and still he must admit that something about the poorly lit alley and the soft chimes of metal hitting metal from swaying swings brings chills down his back. It must be some kind of foreboding, or just the spooky season that's making him feel colder than usual. He's too lazy to do anything about it though. It's a lot of stuff to move. Yeosang slouches even further, feeling but ignoring the odd tingling inside him.

Only a faint black circle can be seen amongst the shifting clouds, moving along with the breeze that brushes Yeosang's hair. The background noise of people chattering to his right fades into nothingness the longer he stays put. All alone, time passes by slower. Yeosang wonders when Wooyoung will come back.

Then, quite suddenly, Yeosang realizes he is in fact not alone. He whips his head towards the playground, and the swings are deadly still. The tingling of his senses stops too.

Huh.

Yeosang blinks at the darkest spot to his left, where multiple trees stand tall and ominous. He lowers his lollipop from his mouth and sits up a little straighter. It's suspiciously normal. But he thinks he understands what's going on regardless.

"I won't taste good," Yeosang simply says to the vampire he knows is staring at him from the shadows. "I guarantee it."

Nothing happens for a long two minutes. Yeosang patiently waits, and eventually he is proven right. A boy with the most chiseled cheekbones and jawline Yeosang has ever seen emerges — it's the new transfer student from the other classroom. Yeosang has heard about him and seen him occasionally during communal physical education, but they've never interacted before. Surely neither of them thought this would be how they'll become each other's acquaintance.

"…How did you know?" San asks with furrowed eyebrows as he approaches. 

If Yeosang was fully human, now might be a good time to run. But he's not, so.

Yeosang turns his head to check for anyone nearby. Seeing none, he faces San and flashes his fangs — the real ones. 

San's eyes widen. "That's why—!" He closes his mouth, studies Yeosang for a second, and continues shyly. "That's why you smell strange."

"I'm stinky?" Yeosang questions with a straight face.

San immediately kind of flails his arms around in denial. He's cute for someone who just tried to eat Yeosang alive. "No! Just — different. You're not like what I usually smell, I — I thought you were human."

"Oh." Yeosang didn't know this. Wooyoung does comment on his scent sometimes, but Yeosang had always attributed that to him being a dog (wolf). "I guess you're not wrong. I'm half."

They study each other with unabashed curiosity. San, because Yeosang is obviously a rare existence. He certainly looks like a vampire given the brief flash of his teeth and the faint glow in his eyes, but he also doesn't feel like one — his heart pumps constantly, rhythmically like a human. (San's is slow and dormant; he can count on one hand the number of times he's felt his heart beat.) And Yeosang, because San is only the third vampire he's ever seen in his life. The first is his mom, and the second is supposedly his great-great-great grandfather who is hibernating in the middle of nowhere. They're secluded creatures who only reveal themselves for the occasional hunt—

"—Are you hungry?" Yeosang asks the moment he realizes San was out here to seriously sink his teeth into someone. He's just unlucky that Yeosang wasn't quite the easy prey he expected.

He's slow to answer the question. "…Not quite. I did feed a week ago, but it's Halloween today so…"

"So it's a good opportunity," Yeosang finishes for him. "I see."

Yeosang has never hunted before. He's never had to, because his parents always made sure he got a healthy supply from the local clinic since birth. And since he needed little to survive, most of the blood donations handed out to his family goes to feeding his mother, so she stopped hunting too. He understands that he's privileged in this aspect. Yeosang doesn't know what it's like to starve and struggle with the morality of drinking from someone, be it an unsuspecting stranger at night or an offering friend. He can also imagine this lifestyle being condemned too. It’s practically domestication. Yeosang’s mother gave up a lot for him. 

Full-fledged vampires drink a lot, but can also abstain for a longer period of time. Yeosang reaches into his cloak and pulls out a pouch that looks as innocent as regular juice, complete with a packaged straw. “Do you want this instead?” He offers. 

San purses his lips, staring at the pouch. Yeosang tries not to jump when San is suddenly sitting right next to him within the blink of an eye. Just because he can do the same doesn’t mean he’s used to seeing others pull the same trick. “What is this?” San asks even though he knows.

“Juice.” San snorts at the answer. “It’s type A,” Yeosang elaborates with a small smile.

“They package it like this in the city now?”

“Yeah. Inconspicuous.”

San pokes the straw through and takes his first sip. He looks confused.

“By the looks of it, I guess it doesn’t taste as good as a fresh bite.” 

San looks even more shocked at this statement. “You guess? What, you’ve never bitten?” His voice lilts as if it’s the most improbable thing he’s ever heard. 

Yeosang shakes his head. “I grew up on that.”

“…Hm.” San glances back and forth between Yeosang and the blood pouch before giving it another try. He smacks his lips a little, pausing to get used to the taste. “It’s not… the worst.” He takes a bigger gulp. “Yeah, not the worst.”

Yeosang leaves him to his drink as they fall into silence. He also remembers he still has a lollipop in his hand, so he goes back to sucking on that. San’s eyes are burning on his profile, probably surprised yet again that Yeosang is very much not like a vampire. Normally, eating human food is just an act. No one would do it out of pleasure. 

“Hey, how old are you, San?” Yeosang suddenly asks. 

San frowns. “Why? Do I look old?” The carefully blank look he receives doesn’t bode well for his ego. “Why!! I’m just as a baby as you are!”

It’s Yeosang’s turn to widen his eyes. “Really? Are you sure?”—San resists the urge to roll his eyes, _yes_ , he’s sure about his own age what the—“I’m only sixteen, you know.”

“I’m sixteen too, we’re in the same grade!”

“I just wanted to make sure. My mom is exactly a hundred years old this year and she looks thirty. You could’ve been an old fart undercover as a student.” 

“Well, I’m not,” San pouts. He takes a second to finish the blood pouch until it’s flat and dry and chucks it into the trash without even looking, eyes trained on Yeosang. Something pink beneath his hair catches San’s attention. He unconsciously leans closer and begins to reach for it, wanting to see it unobstructed. “Hey—!”

“Yeosang!”

The sound of Wooyoung calling for him has Yeosang twisting his body towards it. 

“Where are you?”

Yeosang flickers his flashlight. “Over here!” 

Wooyoung lets out a little “Aha!” and babbling children follow him towards Yeosang.

“Did you forget about me?” Yeosang raises his eyebrow as they approach.

“I didn’t forget about you, I just forgot where I left you,” Wooyoung corrects with a big smile.

“Idiot,” Yeosang huffs. 

“Okay! Now that everyone’s here, let’s go home. I’m done with babysitting, I just wanna lie down forever.” Wooyoung claps his hands and picks up his backpack where it once rested beside Yeosang’s feet. The kids don’t protest the decision, so something about that restroom break and walking around must’ve tired them out. 

“Alright, well then…” Yeosang turns to bid San farewell, only… ah, he’s gone. 

“What? What are you looking at?” Wooyoung sticks his face in the same direction, nosy as ever. 

Yeosang pushes his head aside and stands up with their pumpkin baskets. “Nothing. Let’s go home.”

-

(Wooyoung nudges him sharply just as he’s about to shove a dumpling in his mouth. The dumpling falls into the soy sauce with a splatter. Yeosang is about to choke him until he sees San standing at their table with his lunch in hand.

“Hi,” San smiles shyly, dimples in his cheeks. “Can I sit here?”

Yeosang stares, a little stunned honestly. Wooyoung turns his head between the two of them so fast he might break his neck. “Uh, sure.”

San settles in for the first time, and later he’ll learn that this was the beginning of a group of people he'll proudly call family.)


End file.
